This section is intended to introduce various aspects of the art, which may be associated with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. This discussion is intended to provide a framework to facilitate a better understanding of particular aspects of the disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that this section should be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Since the oil and gas industry first began drilling offshore wells in the middle half of the twentieth century, tens of thousands of wells have been drilled in water depths ranging from a few feet to more than ten thousand feet. In recent years, as the industry has moved farther offshore into deepwater, more than 14,000 wells have been drilled around the world.
One of the challenges of deepwater drilling and production is to ensure that the industry has the capability to maintain the strong record of high standards in the area of health, safety and environmental protection that it has attained in shallow water and onshore. The extensive experience of industry is that when the focus remains on safe operations and risk management, unfortunate offshore incidents should not occur, when they do, those incidents represented a dramatic departure from industry norms in deepwater drilling and both underscore and reinforce industry's long-held views on the importance of safety in all areas of operation.
Certain activities applicable to all water depths can be undertaken to improve well control, and to ensure plans are in place for well interventions and spill response, should such be required. For example, additional procedures involving rig inspections can be undertaken, and requirements implemented on blowout preventer certification and well design. The industry can also form, and has done so, multi-disciplinary task forces to further develop improved prevention, containment and recovery plans.
Nevertheless, deepwater activities remain among the most complex and challenging that industry faces. For example, in deepwater, operations which may be routinely carried out by divers in shallow water are not accessible to divers. Remotely operated vehicles can be used in all water depths, as a general rule, but the added complexity of operating in deepwater increases the challenge of successfully carrying out operations which in shallow water are routine. These challenges are amplified in situations in which deepwater well equipment requires repairs or replacements, and in the rare event that a well blowout requires rapid response.
It remains desirable to provide improvements in marine well containment systems and methods in efficiency, flexibility, and capability for deployment.